Tips for Adopting Healthy Habits After the Festive Season

Building healthy habits

Let’s take a look at how we can adopt (and keep up) new habits at the start of 2021 and throughout the year to improve our health.

Getting the right amount of exercise

Everyone has experienced that fantastic post-exercise endorphin rush that you get after you’ve exercised. The benefits to exercise span across the mental and physical, and making sure that you get the right amount of exercise for your age and fitness level could change your outlook on life in 2021!

Start small and set attainable goals

If you’re starting from scratch when it comes to your exercise habits, the best way to approach your new lifestyle is to start small and set goals for yourself that are truly attainable. For example, try to refrain from setting goals like “I’d like to lose 15kg by my birthday in April.” Instead, set a more achievable goal like “I’m going to commit to two walks and two gym sessions per week for the next two months.”

Choose activities you enjoy

The last thing any busy Singaporean needs in their life is another ‘chore’ that just needs to be ticked off the to-do list every day. By choosing types of exercise that you enjoy, you’ll be more motivated to get up and get going, and will likely achieve your goal faster! You could try playing a sport like tennis, basketball, swimming, or cycling.

Grab a buddy (or two)

There’s nothing more motivating than having someone waiting for you! Arranging to exercise with a friend can be a fantastic way to make sure you stick to your New Year commitment. After all, you wouldn’t want to leave them alone at the park, or the gym, or the front of your building, right?

Eating healthy

Our bodies are made of the foods we eat, so it pays to keep your nutrition in mind. Making more conscious food choices in 2021 will have you feeling happier, lighter and more energetic.

Prep your meals in advance

A great way to ensure you don’t end up going to hawker food stalls five days a week is to prepare your meals in advance for work and bring them from home. This gives you delicious meals that will save you time and money in the long run.

Eat less meat (and replace it with the good stuff)

Eating less meat has a number of health benefits, including reducing your risk of cancer, helping you reach weight loss goals and lowering your cholesterol. Just ensure that you’re still including a range of fresh food options and plant protein to make sure your body is getting the essential minerals and vitamins it needs.

Pay attention to portion sizes

When food is delicious, it can be easy to help ourselves to much more than our body needs. Fortunately, there are ways to eat healthy without sacrificing your portion sizes (high-quality plant protein being one of them), so pay attention to these when you’re choosing your next meal.

Taking care of your self care

In this crazy-busy world, it can be easy to put looking after ourselves properly on the backburner. When we’re stressed, we tend to cancel exercise commitments, skip meals (or binge eat), neglect our mental health and sacrifice our sleep.

Making the time for self care is a great habit to form in 2021 that will help you take care of your mental health as much as your physical health. Take steps to manage your stress, pursue a healthy work/life balance, and understand that you can’t pour from an empty cup! Some examples of self care include taking a bath, cooking yourself a nice meal, going for a jog, meditating, organising your home, or more serious things like budgeting.

Maintaining your new routine

It takes 100 sequential days of a new routine to make it a habit. That can feel like a long time!! Fortunately there are a few things you can do to improve your chances of your new healthy habits ‘sticking’.

Don’t fall for fad diets - make it sustainable

We want to be healthy for our whole lives; not just a small portion of them! There are so many food myths about weight loss on the internet that it’s easy to get lost in the mess and noise. As long as you make sure you’re eating a healthy amount of vegetables, fruits, plant protein and wholegrains, as well as getting the right amount of exercise - you’ll be seeing results in no time!

Keep a journal

When first starting out with your healthy habits, keep a journal or diary and record the days you were able to stick to them, and the days you were not. Detail the circumstances around when you didn’t align yourself with healthy choices, so in the future you can look back and understand what kind of scenarios lead you to make those unwise decisions.

Make 2021 your healthy year

Make starting the New Year on a healthy note easy with Quorn’s range of meat-free solutions. Packed with fibre and high in protein, incorporating a product like Quorn is the perfect way to balance your diet after having a slightly gluttonous festive season.

Find out where you can buy Quorn products here.